Ancient Civilizations: Greeks!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids

By Carmella Van Vleet and Tom Casteel

A full-color exploration of the world of ancient Greece, chock full of STEAM projects, fascinating facts about everyone from gods to ordinary people, and essential questions that get kids ages 7 to 10 thinking critically about what survives from the past.

Who invented democracy? Where were the Olympics first held? Who were some of the first people to use math? All of these questions and more are explored in Ancient Civilizations: Greeks! With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids. In this book, elementary-aged kids learn about ancient Greek homes, food, playtime, clothing, conquests, arts and entertainment, gods, and more. Fascinating links between today’s world and ancient Greek culture offer opportunities for real-world connections and fun STEAM activities promote critical and creative thinking.

• STEAM projects use common household products and require very little adult supervision. Activities range from fashioning a model oil lamp from clay to building a courtyard column and constructing a flipbook sailing ship.

• Readers explore the birth of science, mathematics, astronomy, democracy, and even the Olympic games through fun illustrations, fascinating facts, essential questions, building critical and creative thinking skills across disciplines.

• Introduces major figures in ancient Greek history, such as Aristotle, Archimedes, Homer, Pythagoras, Socrates, and more.

• Explores the sites of ancient architectural wonders such as the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Parthenon, the theater of Epidaurus, and the palace of Knossos.

About the Explore Ancient Civilizations set and Nomad Press

Ancient Civilizations: Greeks! is part of a set of four Explore Ancient Civilization books that bring to life the vibrant cultures of the distant past. The other titles in this series are Ancient Civilizations: Egyptians!, Ancient Civilizations: Romans!, and Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas!

Nomad Press books in the Explore Your World series integrate content with participation, encouraging readers to engage in student-directed learning. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781619308404

Carmella Van Vleet

Carmella Van Vleet is a former teacher and the award-winning author of nearly two dozen books for kids and adults. She is the author of Explore Ancient Rome, Robotics, and Aviation: Cool Women Who Fly from Nomad Press. She lives in Ohio.

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CONTENTS

Glossary*Metric Conversions

Resources*Essential Questions*Index

Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

TIMELINE

C. 3000 BCE: People begin to settle in Athens, one of the most important cities in ancient Greece.

800 BCE: The height of the ancient Greek civilization begins.

776 BCE: The first Olympic Games take place.

C. NINTH OR EIGHTH CENTURY BCE: Homer creates the Iliad and the Odyssey.

600 BCE: The first Greek coins are made.

C. 569 BCE: Pythagoras, a famous Greek mathematician and scientist, is born.

C. 508 BCE: Democracy is born in Athens.

C. 470 BCE: Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, is born.

468 BCE: Theater becomes popular in ancient Greece.

447 BCE: Construction of the Parthenon begins in Athens.

432 BCE: The Parthenon is completed.

332 BCE: Alexander the Great conquers Egypt and expands Greek civilization.

323 BCE: Alexander the Great dies and the ancient Greek civilization begins to decline.

146 BCE: Rome conquers much of Greece, making it part of the Roman Empire.

86 BCE: The Romans tear down the Long Walls that helped protect ancient Athens.

31 BCE: Roman troops conquer the last remaining Greek territories.

Many of the words and names in this book are hard to say, but you can hear them spoken online. Go to symbol next to your word to hear it spoken.

MERRIAM-WEBSTER

INTRODUCTION

WELCOME TO ANCIENT GREECE!

Have you and your family or friends ever taken a group vote? Or looked up in the night sky at the constellation Orion? Maybe you’ve heard about the Trojan Horse, Achilles’s heel, or the lost city of Atlantis. Guess what? All of these things came from ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece was an amazing civilization that reached its height of glory more than 2,000 years ago. You might wonder why we should care about people and things that existed thousands of years ago. But guess what? There are lots of reasons to learn about ancient histories!

WORDS TO KNOW

constellation: a group of stars in the sky that resembles a certain shape, such as the Big Dipper. There are 88 official constellations.

ancient: from an early time in history.

civilization: a community of people that is advanced in art, science, and government.

WORDS TO KNOW

economics: having to do with the resources and wealth of a country.

First, learning about ancient civilizations helps us learn how we’re all connected as humans. By studying communities that came before us, we can learn about how important things such as politics and religion and economics got started. We can also learn from the mistakes of the past. Finally, learning about ancient civilizations is fun!

What else can we thank the ancient Greeks for? Where was ancient Greece? And what was it like to live there? Let’s find out!

DID YOU KNOW?

Have you ever heard the expression, Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it? This is a way of saying that people can learn from events and avoid making some of the same mistakes of the past.

WORDS TO KNOW

BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before Common Era and counts down to zero. CE stands for Common Era and counts up from zero. These non-religious terms correspond to BC and AD. This book was printed in 2019 CE.

Hellenes: the term used by ancient Greeks to describe themselves.

Hellas: the term used by ancient Greeks to describe their region.

plains: large, flat land areas.

WHERE IN THE WORLD

Today, Greece is a country in the southern part of Europe. The land of ancient Greece included modern-day Greece as well as hundreds of islands in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Black Seas. Parts of modern-day Turkey, Italy, Egypt, and Spain were also part of the ancient Greek civilization.

Ancient Greece was at its height during the years